White Christmas
by Lilith Evanson
Summary: Ichigo made a promise to his love that they would be together for Christmas. They aren't and he's in a very foul mood. Now every one of his friends is trying to cheer him up but with so many insane people in one room, chaos is sure to develop.


Hello, I have corrected most of the mistakes in this story and have tried very hard to make sure there weren't any. I don't have a BETA...unfortunately, so I am doing all the checking myself. If you see something off, please inform me and I will be very happy to change it.

Yes, this is my first Bleach story and I am very happy to be able to do this. Believe it or not, this is the longest one-shot I have ever written so it is very special to me and all in all I am very happy with it. It amuses me to no end when I see the first couple of rough drafts I did of this story and seeing how it turned out like this. Completely different from what I had in mind but I am not complaining.

**Summary: **Ichigo made a promise to his love that they would be together for Christmas. They aren't and he's in a very foul mood. Now every one of his friends is trying to cheer him up but with so many insane people in one room, chaos is sure to develop. How long will Ichigo last before he decides to destroy them all?

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Bleach. Tite Kubo has the pleasure of owning it. I am just using his characters for fun and my amusement.

**WARNING: There is yaoi in this story, so if you do not like yaoi or boy x boy, boy on boy, boy kissing boy or such I advise that you leave this page immediately! I admit, there is not much yaoi for the story is mostly about Ichigo but still. Please do not flame if you do not like yaoi. I do not wish to read peoples complaints on the matter. If you don't like then don't read.**

There is a surprise couple in this story but the story is mostly humor and the romance is all the way to the end. A little bit of Rukia and Renji near the end.

Enjoy! Please review and respected criticism is welcomed._

* * *

_**W** h i t e **C** h r i s t m a s  
_By Psycho Dreamer _

White Christmas

_Twitch._

White. All he saw was white. A fluffy, almost solid substance that seemed to glow under the stare of the street lights had somehow found its way to his house.

It irked him.

It had fallen from the dark, grey sky onto his street and made its home in the form of whiteness if that's even a word.

All he saw was white.

It pissed him off to no end.

Now, normally, anyone who saw the glistening powder on their streets would either curse for having to clean it up or thank Mother Nature for blessing them with a beautiful gift as so. This wasn't the case. The teenage boy standing in front of his window looking down on the streets knew that he was having a harder time dealing with it than anyone else. He could feel his heart breaking from the sight of all the white.

_Twitch._

The world hated him, he knew it. For what reason? He couldn't comprehend. All he knew is that Mother Nature more than just disliked him. She _knew_ he missed the color with such a passion that it was painful and _knew_ that every time he saw the sparkling fluff in the light it made him angry. She also _knew_ fully well that he especially missed the cold feeling that always overpowered him every time he stepped outside without a jacket. The cold was a way of consoling him and torturing him at the same time. Mother Nature hated him, taunted him with the beautiful scenery that he couldn't show his precious person. She completely understood he couldn't see his love and for that she found her amusement.

_Twitch. Twitch._

At least, that's what he thought.

The boy continued to stare out the window, his thoughts blocking everything else but him and the damn white. He continued to question in his head everything and anything he could for reasons he soon forgot. Questions that helped him forget and questions that brought back pain he thought he left long ago. Because he was so caught up in his thoughts he didn't notice another presence enter his room.

"By the look on your face, it seems you're not enjoying our little winter wonderland."

Rukia walked into the room, having sensed from downstairs the dark, depressing aura coming from the teenage boy's room. Having seen the damage that was done from the storm the night before, she had a feeling her friend would not enjoy the view he was blessed with from his window once he had woken up. Now that he was awake, she could see perfectly well his mood was ten times worse then she imagined.

"I want to burn it."

Rukia's thoughts were interrupted by that one sentence. She looked up to find the boy in the same position she had walked in on. He continued to stare out the window, glaring at the white. Rukia sighed.

"You know as well as I do you do not want to burn it. Besides, it's too pretty to burn, Ichigo."

Upon hearing his name, Ichigo turned around and walked away from the window. He didn't want to admit that what she had just said was true. He didn't want to burn it but that still didn't mean he had to like it.

"It snowed." Ichigo began to take out his school uniform from his dresser drawer.

"I can see that."

"Why now?"

"It is almost that holiday. What was the name? Christmas?"

Rukia turned around to look at him, a bored look on her face. She watched as he began to pack up all his homework from the day before. Ichigo picked up his books with one hand and began to sort them out by subjects in his backpack.

"They said it was supposed to rain." Ichigo continued to look inside his backpack not even registering what he had just said. Where did his chemistry book go?

"Don't believe everything you're told, Ichigo."

The weather man lied to him. The weather man was never allowed to lie to him. Ever. Once he remembered the man's name and face, he was doomed. He was doomed to die by the hands of an angry god.

"Killing a human before their time is against the law in Soul Society and here as well. As a substitute shinigami, you should know this by now."

Ichigo stopped what he was doing and stared. For a second, Rukia was sure she heard his mind snap. Maybe she should have been more careful with how she phrased her words but to be completely honest, Ichigo needed to grow up. He wasn't the only one who missed someone. She had friends and family back in Soul Society she hadn't seen in a while, but was she sulking? She was calm and happy, understanding fully well that she would see them again. Ichigo didn't seem to understand that. He would see his love very, very soon.

It's not like she doesn't have a few cards up her sleeve.

Rukia continued to stare at her friend. The room was eerily quiet. He stood in front of his bed, the backpack on top with one hand inside and the other hand holding a book with the word 'Chemistry' written on the side. His face held no emotion and his body didn't move an inch.

He was beginning to annoy her. She wanted to go eat and the only reason Rukia came to check on Ichigo in the first place was because of his sister, Karin.

**"Hey, soul reaper girl."**

**"Yeah?"**

**"Go check on my brother, will ya? His room smells funny, like evil darkness killer."**

**"…Alright."**

_'I don't see why **I** have to check on him. He isn't my brother!'_ Rukia thought, remembering what Ichigo's sister had asked her to do a couple of minutes before this waste of a time moment she and Ichigo were having. She wanted to leave now and eat some waffles. She knew what to say to end this epic conversation.

Time slowed as Rukia began to form her words carefully.

"Ichigo." She said, the tension growing thicker as that one name had been said.

"…Yes?" Ichigo asked, his palm growing sweatier by the second.

"…could you go take a shower? You smell of evil darkness killer."

And with that Rukia left the room heading towards the kitchen downstairs and leaving Ichigo who now laid on the ground, his face pushed down and holding the rest of his body up by his elbows and knees.

"Evil what!?"

* * *

Rukia descended the stairs, happy that she would finally be able to eat the sweet waffles Yuzu had made for her during her absence. Ichigo was taken care off, nothing to worry about for the moment.

"Rukia-chan!"

Or so she thought.

Once she reached the last step of the stairs, she felt something grab her from behind and put her in a bear hug. She felt the muscled arms around her waist and acting on instinct, which a shinigami was taught to do; with all her strength grabbed the two arms around her, raised them over her head and flipped them and the rest of the body down to the ground in front of her.

A scream was heard throughout the house and possibly throughout the whole neighborhood. Ichigo, from upstairs in the shower, smirked while Yuzu and Karin (who had innocently been eating their waffles with strawberries) rushed to the living room to see who had, so suddenly, screamed like a girl. Calming herself down after the attack, Rukia opened her eyes to see who she flipped over her head.

And to no surprise, her attacker was none other then Ichigo's perverted father, Kurosaki Isshin.

Isshin looked up at Rukia from the ground and grinned at her with tears flowing down his face.

"My Rukia-chan! You've grown so strong since you were a child! I remember when you were just two weeks old and already winning our thumb wrestling wars!"

Did she mention he was also…insane!?

Karin and Yuzu had walked in from the kitchen to find their father, yet again, flat on his back. What surprised them was this time it wasn't Ichigo who caused the scene. Yuzu stared at her father, worry in her eyes. Karin didn't understand why though. He was always being flipped over or thrown into walls, and glass, doors, and tables. His body was used to it and if he wasn't injured the first couple of times then the Kurosaki family had nothing to worry about. They had a knack for healing fast. It also didn't surprise her that Rukia was able to lift her father, who must have been at least one hundred and eighty pounds, over her head. She was a soul reaper after all, she was sure they could do anything.

_The only thing they can't do is fix a messed up, broken hearted, soul reaping teenage boy._ She thought as she glared at the upstairs bathroom door. She smelled evil darkness killer again.

"Oh, dad! Don't be silly. You never knew Rukia-chan when she was a baby and besides, you barely knew she attended Ichi-nii's school."

Yuzu was smiling at her father from the ground. Karin glanced at her twin from the corner of her eye. Yuzu was always saying things to make her father feel less of a fool. Another trait Karin admired from her sister. She smiled as she watched her sister try to hide her giggle from her father. She turned her attention back to her father and the shinigami to make sure her father didn't, (sigh) once again, make an ass out of himself.

Rukia, not even acknowledging the twins walk into the room, continued to stare at Isshin as she registered in her head what he had just said. She did mention he was crazy, right? She had no choice but to apologize like humans usually do.

"Oops. Sorry, Kurosaki-san! I didn't know it was you. I thought it might have been an evil rapist man trying to get me onto his bed to fondle with my breast while I begged him to stop. Thank goodness it was only you! Please forgive me for my actions." Rukia said bowing. She smiled brightly while giggling lightly pretending to act like she had made a foolish mistake.

Isshin, who was spurting blood from his nose like a waterfall, quickly jumped up and grinned at Rukia. It wasn't the pretty, little lady's fault. Who knows! Perhaps it could have been an evil rapist man bent on trying to seduce his wonderful, beautiful, flawless daughter, Ruki-chan, into bed to fondle her…breast…while she…um…begged him mercifully to…(it's getting hot in here) to..um…stop…touching…boobies…

Silence.

Wham!

* * *

_We're not gonna be together for tomorrow, are we? We're not going to see each other. No matter how much I really want to hold you to me, I doubt I'll be able to keep my promise to you. Sorry."_

Ichigo looked at himself in the mirror and sighed. He understood enough to know his love was busy with more important things. Still, he promised he would hold them both tonight. Before he departed his exact words were _"I'll be back, don't forget alright. I promise you, we'll be together." _

"Well, that didn't work out to well, did it?"

He had tried to keep his promise. Things were always just too complicated for their own damn good. His love no longer went to his school, no longer fought with him. Hell, it had even been a while since they last spoke. They no longer saw each other and he hated to admit it but it hurt like hell. He made sure not to show he was hurting to anyone. No matter how many times his sisters or Rukia or even his own damn father asked, he always said he was fine and that it never bothered him.

Sure he was hurting inside but he still had a reputation to keep. Ichigo was not a crier; he was a fighter, a fighter whose heart was breaking in two.

"Breaking in two? What the hell? Now I'm sounding like a love struck idiot!"

He sighed once again and looked at his mirror. He hadn't been sleeping well during the last couple of nights and his back still hurt from the attack he had earlier during the week with another shinigami. His hair was all over the place and he had slight bags under his eyes. He didn't exactly look like shit but he had looked better. How could not seeing someone for at least two months actually end up doing so much damage to the body and mind? Was it even possible?

"I could care less anymore."

Ichigo was buttoning up his school uniform when all of a sudden his thoughts were interrupted by a girlish scream. Instantly he knew someone was causing horrible pain to his father so he continued to fix his uniform and put on his watch.

He had more important things to worry about then his father being beaten up by two girls who could lift more then their own body weight.

What was he going to do now? He really only had two options. _A.)_ He could go to school on Christmas Eve, which really didn't seem fair but he had a test to take and it was only for two hours, and then just spend the rest of the day decorating the tree with his family while having fun or _B.)_ Sulk in his room all day and wait for death to claim him.

_A_ sounded better and less depressing.

He was interrupted again when he heard another girlish scream from the living room and after minutes of thinking it over, he decided that he would go save his father from anymore unusual punishment. Though he wondered now what on earth his father could have done to earn his pain.

Ichigo opened his door with one hand while the other was holding his backpack and took his time walking down the stairs making sure he didn't fall.

Safety was more important and his dad could wait.

* * *

"Don't think I don't know what you're thinking, dad! Perverted old man!" Karin screamed as she pushed her foot down harder on the back of her father's head.

"Oh, Karin-chan, don't be so mean to your father. He was just worried about me that's all. He would never try to do anything perverted, right Kurosaki-san?"

Isshin looked up to his pretend daughter and smiled. Blood and tears ran down his face as he tried to turn his head around from under his real daughter's foot. "O-Of course, R-Rukia-chan! I would n-never try anything as d-disgusting as that. I would t-try to p-protect you."

Rukia glanced down and smiled. "I know you would have protected me in a second if a man like that would have come into the house."

"Y-Yes, of c-course!"

Yuzu looked on with concern and nervousness on her face as she watched her sister put more pressure on her father's head. She was sure she could hear bone crunching.

_'He's going to have brain damage if she keeps this up. Soon he won't even be able to think a perverted thought._

"Karin, please stop. I think Tou-san learned his lesson."

"What the hell are you doing now?"

Ichigo finally reached the bottom of the steps. He was watching as his sister pushed harder down on his father's head who was now crying like a baby. His other sister watched on, her hands gripping each other in front of her face while Rukia just stood their with a blank look on her face.

Serious Déjà vu.

Ichigo sighed as he brought his one free hand up to scratch the back of his head.

"You know, for just one day, could I walk down to see a normal family having a normal breakfast and not a father being beaten up by his thirteen year old daughter?"

"No." They all said in unison.

"Merry freaking Christmas." Ichigo walked out of the room into the kitchen.

Karin turned back to her father and bending down slightly, whispered in his ear "I'm watching you, old man."

She was sure she could feel a shiver of fear run up her father's spine.

* * *

Toast flew in the air as Ichigo grabbed it in midair and began to chew while putting on his shoes. Yuzu wondered in the kitchen watching as her big brother began to put on his winter jacket, the toast hanging from his mouth.

"Ichi-nii, why don't you have some waffles? I made them myself."

Once Ichigo was done with his toast, he turned around and smiled at his little sister.

"Maybe another time, hm? I'm going to be late for school if I stay any longer."

Yuzu widened her eyes and was about to say something when Karin and Rukia entered the room and silenced her with a finger to the mouth.

"Just watch."

Ichigo waved goodbye and opened the door but as soon as he opened it, he was hit with a fierce wind that almost blew him over. He quickly composed himself and was once again about to step outside when he opened him eyes and saw something that made his heart stop.

It was snowing a lot.

Ichigo stared out into the world of white and only white. His mind went completely blank, wide eyes stared out into nothingness. He continued to stand there for a couple more minutes. A flashback from earlier popped into his head.

_And all he saw was white…_

Rukia, Karin, and Yuzu walked over to him to make sure he hadn't died.

"You didn't hear, Ichi-nii? School is closed for today. The weather is really bad out."

"Meaning we have a snow day."

Rukia watched with a small, sad smile as Ichigo's soul floated from his mouth, his face becoming deathly pale.

"S-Snow d-d-day…"

"That's right Ichigo. We're off for Christmas Eve. Why do you think I didn't get dressed today in uniform?" Rukia gave Ichigo a look that said 'duh.'

"I thought you just decided to skip today." He glared. "Besides, when the hell did it start snowing!? I was looking out the window not ten minutes ago."

"Snow's fast, Ichi-nii. You should know that by now." Karin walked over to the table, sat down, and began to eat her sweet waffles.

Ichigo grumbled up the stairs heading towards his room to change. "There are apparently a lot of things I'm supposed to know already. Damn white powdered shit, never can leave me the fuck alone…"

Yuzu stared out at her brother, worry once again on her face only this time it was for her brother. She had seen him down before but never like this. This bad mood of his must have been the worst she had ever seen. She could almost feel it, almost smell it. It didn't smell that great either, like evil, darkness, and dare she say it, killer.

"He acts like its cocaine or something. You didn't do what I asked, reaper girl." Karin glared at Rukia, who was sipping from a cup of hot chocolate, over her waffles. Rukia sat across from Karin and Yuzu. Her waffles were begging her to eat them and savor their delicious flavor.

"I checked up on him like you asked me to do." Rukia took a sip of her hot chocolate.

"No, you were supposed to talk to him about his problem. He looks even moodier then before, and I can still smell evil darkness killer from him."

"He took a shower." Yuzu said, innocently staring at the two and completely confused on what they were talking about. Though she was glad to know she wasn't the only one who could smell Ichigo's dark aura.

"You know as well as I do that whatever I say to him goes completely over his head, especially a situation like this. There's only one person he'll listen too and that person isn't here. There's nothing we can do."

"That person is the reason why he's feeling so down. You're one of his closes friends. He should listen to you more then any of us." Karin poked at her waffles. She wasn't that in the mood for them now but to make her sister happy she took a couple of more bites.

Rukia sighed. If only he would listen. Ichigo was not ready to hear anyone's remarks on his behavior over the last two months and especially a week ago when he got into that fight with the shinigami. He wanted to be alone yet he didn't. She wanted to so badly tell him that he was acting like a child who lost their favorite toy. He didn't want to hear that everything would be okay or that he would see his love soon. He wanted to hear his love's voice, to feel his love's skin, and to see his person's face. Actually going into a deep conversation with him about his mood and his emotions was something Ichigo did not want to do and something Rukia wanted to avoid. As much as she cared for Ichigo like he was her own brother, she still didn't want to talk to him about his emotions. Not only would it be awkward but she had a feeling she would do most of the talking.

"He won't listen." was all she said to the sister.

Karin watched Rukia for a few more minutes in silence before sighing. She was right, as much as she hated to admit it. Ichigo wouldn't listen. No surprise there, though. Even when he was a child he never listened. Still, maybe if talking about what he was feeling right now, he would probably feel better and she wouldn't have to constantly smell that disgusting mood. She swore he could make that into cologne.

"He might not feel so down if maybe his girlfriend came to visit him for Christmas." Yuzu said.

She began to think over everything her sister and her brother's best friend were saying. If the reason why he was so down was because he couldn't see her, well maybe she can come to him. It made sense in the young girl's mind.

"Not possible. The girl is pretty busy right now. Ichigo tried to go visit but he became… preoccupied."

They all became silent again. Thoughts of how to cheer up the strawberry head boy came and went, all finishing with a disastrous end.

Yuzu's thoughts turned from her brother to her brother's lover. She had heard her brother was dating someone but never met the person. She had no idea what the girl looked like or if she really knew her and just didn't know it. In fact, her brother never mentioned anyone to the family. She had to hear the news from Karin who had heard it from Rukia's own mouth. Perhaps Rukia was her brother's lover? No, that was impossible. If she was, Ichigo wouldn't be acting so sad. This made Yuzu want to find out who this girl was so she could make her brother feel better. She never liked seeing him sad. Ichigo, though she would never admit this to his face or to anyone else, was a sensitive person. He always had been when they were smaller so it came to no surprise that he would be broken hearted from not being able to see his girlfriend. Ichigo cared for a lot of people even if he never showed it. He could be easily hurt on the inside but it would take a very sharp knife to hurt him on the outside.

"Rukia-chan, may I ask you a question?"

Rukia, who had secretly been enjoying her warm waffles, turned to Yuzu with a questioning look.

"Hywes?"

"Both you and my sister continue to say 'Ichigo's love.' Does this mean his girlfriend?"

"What do you think we were talking about, Yuzu?" Karin asked with a bored expression on her face.

Yuzu blushed at her sister's question but continued. "I was just a little confused, that's all. Ichi-nii's never mentioned having a girlfriend and we never met her in the first place. We don't even know her name! How are we to help Ichi-nii when we don't even know the girl he's so sad over?"

"Good point. Reaper girl, whose the girlfriend?" Rukia glared at Karin, chewing the last of her waffles and savoring the taste before swallowing and contemplating the answer. Once she was finally done thinking, she opened her eyes and stared at both Yuzu and Karin.

"I don't know."

"Then how the hell do you know Ichigo's going out with someone if you don't know the girl?" Karin glared back at Rukia.

"I know Ichigo's dating someone; I just don't know who it is. He never told me and I never met the person."

That was a lie. She knew exactly who the person was but decided not to tell the sisters. She would let Ichigo tell them. This was his problem anyway.

"So he's dating in secret. Why though? Why wouldn't he tell any of us? We're his family, he can't be that embarrass by us, can he?" Karin stared at her water glass, Ichigo was one to hide secrets but if he was in love, would he really hide something like that.

"I doubt he's embarrassed by his family, I just believe he never had time to introduce you all to his girlfriend, that's all."

"I wonder who it is though. Ichigo's never crushed on anyone." Karin muttered in her hand.

"Who knows, but I've decided I'll just wait for him to tell me." Rukia closed her eyes and relaxed against the chair. The waffles made her very sleepy.

"Or…"

Karin and Rukia glanced over at Yuzu. Her face held a twisted mix of emotions. She was thinking something important and needed utter silence. When the silence became too long Rukia and Karin glanced at each other and questioned.

"Or…"

"Maybe we can find out who Ichi-nii's girlfriend is."

"That took you five minutes to figure out?" Karin had a look of disbelief on her face as she stared at her blushing sister.

"You want to find out who his girlfriend is? I can agree with that." Rukia said with a smirk on her face.

"If we find out who it is, maybe we could call her up or maybe even talk to Ichi-nii about her. I just really want to know who she is! It will be so awesome to have another girl in the house to talk to about Ichi-nii."

_'Not that he doesn't already have three of them plus a father who watches him at night.'_ Rukia thought.

"Wait, wait, wait, hold up. Are you saying we're going to spy on our brother just to find out who he might be humping?"

"Yes."

"…Alright, I'm in." Yuzu blushed more at her sister's words but nodded anyway.

"It's agreed then! The three of us will find out who Ichi-nii's lover is and then we shall bring her here so she can make him happy again! Yush!" Yuzu shouted as she stood up from her seat with her fist hitting her palm in satisfaction.

"Oh! What's this about Ichigo's boyfriend!?" Shouted Isshin as he entered the kitchen after having taken care of his bruises and scratches he earned from his daughter.

"Girlfriend, dad. We're going to find out who Ichigo's girlfriend is." Karin walked over to the sink as she washed her dish and went to dry it before putting it back into the cabinet.

"He has a girlfriend, too? That's my boy!"

Wham!

Just then Rukia saw Isshin fly right across in front of her and hit the wall so hard that cracks began to show. She blinked a couple of times before turning around to see it was Karin who had done it.

"Damn it, dad! Stop being a pervert! Ichigo has one girlfriend and that's it!"

"Ah! Tou-san, are you alright?" Yuzu ran to her father to make sure he didn't hit his head too hard against the wall. He might have a concussion.

Isshin chuckled lightly as his body fell straight down onto his back. As soon as he fell Yuzu kneeled down next to him.

"Tou-san?"

"At least I know one of my daughters care…hnn." Isshin's head fell back to the ground and he was out like a light.

Karin sighed and walked over to Rukia. "Just don't go tellin' Ichi-nii that we're going to be spying on him. I know how you confide in him about everything."

"I do not!"

"Yeah, yeah. I'm gonna go get all the Christmas stuff. Make sure my father doesn't do anything stupid while I'm gone. Since Ichigo's all evil darkness killer right now, I'm the only one who's watching him so back me up."

Karin walked off into the living room headed towards the basement to gather their decorations. As soon as she left, Ichigo walked into the kitchen and without even a glance walked over his father towards the waffles on the table.

Rukia watched him eat and began to think again. This was going to be fun, to play the game of finding out about Ichigo's girlfriend when she knows perfectly well who the person is. It was only a matter of time.

"Why are you staring at me like that?"

"No reason."

"Well, stop, it's creeping me out."

Rukia smiled at got up from her seat. She walked to the sink and began to wash her dish.

"Rukia?"

Rukia turned around, having already finished washing, and walked towards the towel rack to dry her plate and fork.

"Yes?"

"You think…I can keep my promise?"

She stopped drying and stared at her plate. She knew what he was asking but didn't know how to respond. Would he be able to keep the promise? She wasn't sure. Ichigo always kept his promises but some were just impossible to keep.

"I don't know, sorry."

Rukia put her plate away and began to walk towards the living room. She heard Karin struggling with a box and decided to go help her. An excuse so she wouldn't have to really answer the question Ichigo had just plagued her with.

"Where are you going?"

"To help your sister. Hurry up and finish your waffles. We're going to need you to put up the tree since your father is indisposed right now."

Ichigo turned around and watched as his younger sister helped his father up so she could bandage and re- bandage his injuries. He knew that must have been Karin's work.

He couldn't help but smile.

* * *

Christmas is the best time of the season. Children laugh and play in the snow. Family's stay home and spend time together under the decorated tree with bright, colorful lights and eat homemade gingerbread men. The snow covering the trees and houses makes beautiful scenery worthy of a hallmark card. This season was the time of giving and receiving.

So where the hell was his gift? Oh, that's right, a place where he wasn't.

He just couldn't get a break. Ichigo watched as a couple walked down the street hand in hand and talking to each other quietly, smiles on their faces. Why couldn't he have that? He's not really a romantic person but he wouldn't mind holding hands right now or sitting in front of the window with his love seated on his lap.

He wouldn't mind that at all.

Instead he was here, sitting on the couch and watching as he father was screaming of killer lights while he was trying to disentangle himself from them. His sister, Karin, was on the ground laughing so hard she was holding her stomach while Yuzu, who was worried sick about her father, tried to help him disentangle himself from the bright lights which he had connected before entangling them and now they were burning his skin. Rukia continued to bring boxes up from the basement, searching for the ornaments she had heard about. Ichigo had said they were round, fragile balls that hung from hooks and you were supposed to decorate the tree with them. A strange, yet intriguing tradition, she thought, but it was still something she wanted to try.

He sighed again and looked out the window. The weather was beginning to look bad again. It was snowing harder now, he could hear it actually hitting the window.

_I hope that couple got home alright._

"Ichigo! You mind helping me with these boxes? I could use a freakin' hand!" Rukia said as she threw the last box on the floor in front of him.

"You're done."

"Don't think I'm not tempted to kill you right now evil darkness killer." Rukia whispered before walking back to the first box and searching for the ornaments.

"Evil what?" Ichigo was still confused on that.

"Ichi-nii, maybe you can help Tou-san and me with the lights."

Yuzu finally freed her father from the evil lights but now he had little burn marks all over his face and arms.

"We could sure use your help."

Ichigo smiled at his sister. She might be good at not showing it, but he could see she was worried about him. Maybe he wasn't that good at hiding his bad mood. He should ask Byakuya one day how he does it.

"Alright, I'll help you with the lights. Rukia, I'll help you next with finding the ornaments. I know you've been dying to see them."

Rukia's eyes lit up at the mention of ornaments. Finally, she would be able to see one and maybe hang one up on the green tree they called a Christmas tree.

While Ichigo was preoccupied with disentangling the lights from his father's torso, again, Rukia went behind a wall and took out her cell phone. This would be a perfect time to put her plan in action. She did admit she had a few cards up her sleeve.

She dialed the number into her phone and brought it to her ear. Three rings later the person she was waiting for picked up.

"Hello?"

"It's me, are you coming?"

"I'm still trying to convince the guys to let me come. Man, its harder then it looks to get the hell out of this place. I can't just walk out to your place, you know."

Rukia sighed. "Well, how long are you all going to be?"

"Don't know, can't really tell from here."

"Well, hurry up, will you! Christmas is tomorrow and if you don't come, Ichigo's going to be even more depressed and I can't handle it anymore. It's annoying and it's pissing me off."

"Jeez, relax already! I'm not as happy as you are either but it's gonna be a while."

"Just come already! Ichigo needs-"

"Yeah, yeah! I know…listen, I'll be coming in a little while so don't fret, alright?"

"When do you suppose-"

"I don't know, Rukia! I'm still trying to get out of this place and the guys are making it harder for me! Listen, I have to go, but I promise I'll be there, alright. Once I get their, I'll make sure to kick the hell out of Ichigo for pissing you off. Ja ne!"

"W-Wait!"

Beep.

"That jerk! He said he'd come today. He better keep his promise or I'll kick his ass myself."

* * *

Ichigo was having a harder time trying to put on the lights then he had with taking them off his father. He never had trouble putting them on. Why were they being so difficult?

Oh, right, he was angry.

It was twelve o'clock in the afternoon and he was still thinking of this morning. The thing with Ichigo was it was easy to let things go but at the same time he just couldn't let things _go_! Not only was this annoying to everyone else but it was annoying to him as well. His thoughts were just too complicated for his liking. It snowed, big deal, it always snows during winter. This shouldn't be a problem.

But it was for him and he hated it more then hollows.

And he _really_ hated hollows.

Rukia came back from the kitchen and sat down on the couch watching as Ichigo struggled even more with the lights. Yuzu, Karin, and Isshin had gone upstairs to decorate the stair well and the doors (Isshin hiding mistletoe in the girl's rooms, and Ichigo's). Rukia could tell Ichigo was angry now. The smell of evil darkness killer returned only stronger. She knew it was only a matter of time before she smelled homicidal suicide.

"I think I should help you with those lights, Ichigo. It looks like you're having some difficulty."

"I am not; they just don't want to agree with me right now."

"Giving lights a human characteristic such as agreeing? You definitely are angry with something."

Ichigo turned to glare at her. "Urusai!"

Rukia smirked at his glare. "I'm just saying."

"I'm not in the mood, Rukia."

"I can tell."

"Good, so use that talent of being able to tell and go away."

Rukia sighed. "Why don't you just tell me what's the matter?"

"You already know what the matter is."

"Still, talking about it might help you out. It relieves stress, anxiety, and constipation. I think you could use a long conversation."

"I'm not stressed, I'm not anxious, and I'm definitely not constipated."

"Ichigo pl-"

Just then the bell rang interrupting Ichigo and Rukia's conversation. It was life saver for Ichigo and a damn annoyance for Rukia.

"I'll get it." Ichigo said as he walked over to the door. Rukia sighed again and walked towards the tree, trying to fix the tornado Ichigo had created with his two hands.

"Alright, but when you come back, we're talking about this."

_Please let it be someone with a shotgun._ Ichigo thought as he turned the knob to open the door. Once the door was opened he had to close his eyes from the wind and snow blowing from outside. It became stronger since that morning. When he opened his eyes to greet the person at the door, Ichigo eyes widened. To his surprise, it was the last person he thought he see that day.

Uryu Ishida.

* * *

Karin wasn't paying much attention to her father and sister while they sang Christmas songs and decorated the stair well and the doors, which she noticed her father hanging mistletoe over, she would have to remember to take those off later on during the night.

"You better watch out, you better not cry, Well, shut up! I'm telling you why! Santa Claus gotta shotgun tonight. He's making his list, checking his guns, gonna find out who stole his buns! Santa Claus gotta shotgun tonight! He see's you when your sleeping, which really creeps me out! He knows when you've been bad or good which is perverted I think now!"

_Oh, please stop!_ Karin thought as she walked over to her father and kicked him down with her foot, his face hitting the floor.

"Wow, Tou-san, that's the fourth time today! Three more and you'll beat your record." Yuzu said as she stared down at her father who was under Karin's foot.

"I'm not a-a-aiming for a r-r-record!" Came a muffled shout for Isshin.

"Shut up, old man! That song is annoying!" Karin shouted. Just then she heard the door ring and looked downstairs. Yuzu also turned her attention from her father to the front door.

"I wonder who that could be, especially in this weather?" Yuzu stared as Ichigo went to answer the door. No one could ever go out in this weather. It was too cold and they would barely be able to see their hand in front of their face. Who on earth would go to such extreme's to walk to their hou-

Oh. My. God.

"Karin!"

Karin turned her attention from Ichigo answering the door to her sister.

"Yeah?"

"What if it's her?"

"Who?"

"Ichigo's girlfriend!"

Karin eyes widened a little before turning her attention back downstairs. She couldn't see from her position but she could tell it was someone Ichigo knew. He looked slightly taken back almost as if he didn't expect that person to come.

Could it be?

Karin turned to stare back at her sister but found her missing from her spot. Instead Yuzu had run down the stairs, heading towards the door. Karin brought her foot down from her father's head and ran to catch up with her sister.

_Is it her? Is it her?_ She questioned herself. Did she finally come to save Ichigo? Yuzu hoped with all her heart. She could sense that Ichigo was becoming tenser and she had to fight the urge to run up to him, hold him, and tell him everything was going to be okay. She quickly reached the last step and composing herself; she took one breath of air, and walked slowly towards the door where her brother was still gaping at the person.

What she saw slightly surprised her. There in the doorway was her big brother's friend, Uryu Ishida. Yuzu continued to stare until finally she grabbed enough courage to walk towards the door standing next to her brother and bended down slightly to get a good look at the man in the door way.

"Are you my brother's girlfriend?"

Silence engulfed the whole room as the question was echoed through everyone's mind. Ichigo stared down at his sister, his eyes wide in disbelief. Rukia, who was eating a candy cane, turned to look at Yuzu as well, her eyes watering from wanting to laugh. Karin finally made it down the stairs but was too late to save Yuzu from asking the embarrassing question.

The room continued to stay quiet until suddenly "Oi! Ichigo's boyfriend! Welcome to our home! It's so nice to finally meet you again!"

And then chaos.

Karin turned around and glared at her father. "Dad!" she screamed as she ran up the stairs to kill him. Isshin had seen his daughter coming so he ran down the hall towards his room, his hands high in the air with tears streaming down his face from his wide eyes and screaming.

Ichigo turned back to look at Ishida who didn't seemed amused and then turned to his sister.

"Yuzu!"

Rukia held herself on the ground, tears running down her face as she laughed. She turned towards Ichigo and Ishida and began to laugh harder; her forgotten candy can on the floor.

Yuzu, seeing the embarrassment she brought upon her brother, quickly smiled and left, blushing at the mistake she had made.

Ichigo turned back around, an angry glare on his face as he looked straight at Ishida.

"What are you doing here?"

Ishida had a smile on his face; the light shimmered on his glasses completely blocking Ichigo's view of his eyes.

"I didn't come to be your boyfriend, that's for sure."

Ichigo grounded his teeth together as he tried hard not to punch his friend in the face. Rukia, after hearing that statement, laughed harder and was now choking on her own spit.

"Why are you here?"

"Ichigo, when greeting someone at the door, the first thing one must say is 'Hello, how may I help you?'"

"What the _fuck_ are you doing here, Uryu?"

Ishida sighed as he watched his friend with mild interest. He was still sulking. Not only that but he smelled horrible. Almost like evil darkness killer. Something he hadn't smelled for along time. Not since the time his hollow injured someone important to him.

"I came here because the heat at my house has broken and it's so cold inside it's actually snowing. So I decided I'd rather be at your house then my cold one. Mind if I come in?"

Ichigo stared at Ishida for a minute before replying "You're father owns a freakin hospital and you're giving me the excuse that the heat at your place broke?"

"Yes."

And with that said Ishida made his way through the door. He took off his jacket and scarf to reveal a long sleeved blue shirt and dark blue jeans with white shoes. Once his shoes were off and his feet were covered by slippers, he walked into the living room where Rukia was now wiping her eyes and every so often giggling.

"Hello, Rukia. How have you been?"

"Better when you showed up."

Ichigo growled before replying he was going to get a drink for Ishida.

They both sat on the couch in complete silence. Ishida was playing with his glasses while Rukia was still wiping her eyes off of any tears. Finally, the silence became too much for Rukia. She had a question to ask and it was important.

"So you came."

"Yes, I did."

"Why?"

"I told you why. The heat at my home broke down and this place was the closes place I could get too."

Rukia turned to look at Ishida. She new the truth as much as he did.

"I know why you came. Just admit it."

"Admit to what? May I ask?"

"You were worried about Ichigo."

"Where would you get a silly idea like that?"

She continued to stare at him but Ishida kept calm and quiet fully understanding what she was trying to do. It wasn't working. Shinigami didn't scare him. He was a Quincy. She would have to do worse then just stare to break him.

"I know you care for him. I also know I, along with his two sisters, aren't the only ones that smell the evil darkness killer radiating off his body. Just admit it; you were worried about him because of everything that happened."

Ishida smirked at the truth. Though he would never admit it, even to himself, he was slightly worried for his shinigami friend. Ichigo hadn't really been the same for the last two months and he could see that, because of the season change, it had become worse. Rukia was right about the aura Ichigo was throwing out. He could sense the spiritual energy all the way from his house. Ichigo was not one to break so easily but when one is in love, even the strongest of men go down.

"Rukia, I didn't come here to check up on Ichigo to make sure he just didn't decide to run off and find his lover. I didn't come over here to give him even a little comfort. I also didn't come all the way over here to help you deal with his problems. I only came here to warm up, that's all." Ishida turned towards Rukia and smiled.

"Besides, I don't really understand what you're talking about. Why don't we talk about it again when we're not so busy."

As soon as Ishida had said that statement, Ichigo walked in with a glass of milk in his hand and a plate of cookies Yuzu had made as an apology for embarrassing her brother.

"Here. Eat, drink, then get the hell out."

Ichigo handed Ishida the cookies and milk before going towards the tree again to make sure the lights, Rukia decided to try to put on, were right.

Rukia watched as Ishida munched on his cookie happily. She was bewildered. She should have expected this from a Quincy.

_'He's good.'_ She thought as she smirked at him from the corner of her eye. She turned her attention towards Ichigo to see how he was doing. The smell hadn't gone away and now a look had come with it. Perfect. The Quincy came at the right time.

"Where's your dad, Uryu?" Ichigo asked as he fixed the lights on the tree.

"He's working the night shift at the hospital so he won't be home for Christmas. I'm all alone this year, though it's not the first time." When he was younger and when his grandfather was still alive did he have a family. After the death of his mother and grandfather, his own father no longer had time for him and worked long hours at the hospital. Ishida was always alone during the time that was supposed to be special. It didn't bother him anymore but sometimes it still hurt.

Ichigo understood he was hurting; maybe that was one of the reason's Uryu had come to his house. Either way, after hearing his father wasn't going to be home for Christmas; Ichigo no longer had the heart to tell Ishida to get the hell out of his home.

_'I'm getting soft.'_

Ishida looked up and smiled when he saw the worried and guilty look on Ichigo's face. It made him want to laugh at the thought that even through his own pain Ichigo still had room to worry for someone else. He was one hell of a guy.

Ichigo turned around to talk to Rukia remembering that he had promised her something. He wasn't ready to break another promise.

"Rukia, you still want to hang up ornaments?"

Rukia, who had been back to eating her candy cane, looked up and smiled.

"Ornaments? We're still going to hang them up?" She asked.

Ichigo smiled at the child like wonder on her face. "Yeah, I promised you, didn't I?"

And with that, Rukia sprang up on her feet and ran after Ichigo who was walking down the stairs to find the extra box Rukia had forgotten.

Ishida sat alone for a while before he heard someone walking from the kitchen. When he turned to face the person, he noticed it was Ichigo's little sister. What was her name? Yuzu, right.

"Um, Uryu-san. Please forgive me for my blunt question at the doorway. I was anxious to see Ichigo's girlfriend and when I saw you I was a little confused so…"

Ishida smiled at her with kindness. She didn't embarrass him. In fact, he really liked her because she was so sweet.

And she embarrassed Ichigo.

"It's alright, Yuzu-chan. I'm not angry at you and you don't have to apologize to anyone. You were confused and asked a simple question. No one ever got in trouble for asking a question, right?"

Yuzu smiled with relief. Ishida-kun was so nice and sweet. She didn't understand why Ichigo always acted so mean to him.

She walked towards him and smiled. "Thank you for not being mad with me. It's just I was a little curious as to who my brother is dating and when I heard the doorbell, I believed she might have come to visit him and cheer him up. I was wrong but right at the same time."

"And what were you right about, Yuzu-chan?"

Yuzu looked thoughtful before looking back and Ishida and grinned. "Well, his girlfriend didn't come to visit and cheer him up. Instead, you came to visit and cheer him up."

Ishida gave her a blank stare. He blinked at her and said nothing, waiting for her to continue.

"I'm really glad you came. I believe Ichi-nii could use all the friends in the world right now. He's going through a hard time, I'm sure you know. I just want to see my brother happy again. If he's visited by his friends I'm sure he'll cheer right up." She bowed to him before living the room. "Thank you again, Ishida-kun!"

Uryu continued to stare at her even after she left. Once she was gone he chuckled a little while holding his head into his hand. Another smart cookie in this house hold. Ichigo was lucky to have a sister who cared like Yuzu.

* * *

"There not in here, Ichigo." Rukia said as she looked through another box in the basement. They had been searching for five minutes and still no ornaments. She really wanted to play with them.

"There have to be around here somewhere. I know we put them away." Ichigo grabbed another large box from under the stairway and continued to search. All he found though were dead spiders and more of his father's junk.

"Maybe they're upstairs with the other boxes?"

"No, I checked them. They're not up there. Oh, wait." Ichigo pulled down another box and inside he could hear the jingle of metal hitting each other.

"I think I found them."

Once Rukia heard those words she rushed over towards Ichigo and bent down to take a peak inside. There, it front of her were the most beautiful colored orbs she had ever seen. Blue, green, purple, red, orange, silver, and gold covered the balls with hooks hanging from the top. They were so shiny and she knew once she put one on the Christmas tree, it would brighten the room and be the finishing touch to a masterpiece.

Ichigo watched as Rukia's eyes widened in disbelief and wonder. She had never seen anything like it and to see the smile on her face made Ichigo feel a little better. He made her happy with the simplest thing in the world. It was something Ichigo would cherish for a long time.

"Do you like them?"

"They're so brilliant. Can I touch them?"

Ichigo chuckled. "How about we get upstairs first, alright? Then you can start hanging them on the tree with Yuzu and Karin."

Rukia quickly bolted up the steps not wanting to waste time. Ichigo chuckled under his breath as he lifted the box and began to walk upstairs.

* * *

Karin sensed the evil darkness killer aura slowly ease away. Ichigo was calming down, maybe even forgetting. It wouldn't last, she knew, but it made her feel a little better about her brother. He may be a big guy but he was as sensitive as a puppy. Just don't tell that to his face. He get's angry real easily.

Karin descended the steps searching for her sister who she found in the kitchen baking cookies. She turned to the left to find another person sitting on the couch reading a book that was taken off their bookcase. She instantly knew who the person was and laughed. This was the guy Yuzu thought was dating Ichigo.

_Yeah, okay._

Ishida turned once hearing the laughter and saw it was Ichigo's other, more violent sister, Karin. She was a sweet girl who also had an attitude like her brother and did not take shit from anyone. How that gene runs in the family he had no idea. Maybe the mother had it.

"Hey, sorry about my sister earlier. We've been dying to know who the hell my brother is going out with so she must have thought it was you. Again, dude, sorry."

"It's no problem. I understand, she already explained to me."

Karin nodded and was about to step away when a thought came to her. This guy was a friend of her brother's, so he should know who Ichigo was going out with, right? She had to ask. If he knew then this stupid game would end and she would no longer have the question hovering over her head.

"Hey, do you know who the hell my brother's dating?"

Ishida looked up from his book and smiled. It did not seem Ichigo, nor Rukia, had told the two girls who Ichigo had so absently fell in love with. Well, he wasn't going to be the one to ruin the secret.

"I don't know."

Karin continued to stare at him for a couple more minutes before she cursed under her breath and left to help her sister in the kitchen.

Ishida turned around again to the doorway heading towards the basement and saw Rukia running up, her blue dress swaying by the wind she was making. Ichigo was a couple steps behind her, holding a box which he presumed held the ornaments.

"I see you finally found them."

Rukia turned around and grinned. "Yeah, and you should see them. They're beautiful!"

"Yes, I've seen them before. They are magnificent." Ishida said, adding to her excitement.

"Don't encourage her."

"Aha, gomen."

Rukia picked up a gold ornament and smiled seeing her reflection only distorted. The color was shiny and when she held it against the light, it shimmered. She admired the ornament in her hand and wanted to keep it for herself. She was beginning to love this holiday.

"Where did you get these?"

Ichigo continued to fix the lights while answering her. "My mother bought these before I was born. We saved them every year, not bothering to buy any new stuff. She loved ornaments so she bought a whole bunch with different colors. She even bought ones with characters on it. It's a tradition in our family to decorate on Christmas Eve. It's something I enjoy."

Rukia stared at him in amazement. So he loved ornaments too. She smiled. His aura was beginning to fade even more. She could barely smell him anymore. Now he was beginning to smell of strawberries.

Just then the door bell rang again. Ichigo turned around and stared at the door then turned to look at Ishida, then stared at the door again, then Ishida, and then the door. Rukia stared at Ichigo with a raised eyebrow and carefully holding the golden orb.

Ichigo sighed and headed towards the door. "I'll get it."

The doorbell rang again, twice this time.

"I heard the doorbell! Is it her!?" Yuzu and Karin came running from the kitchen readying themselves to meet Ichigo's soul mate.

"Karin, Yuzu, stay in the kitchen!" Ichigo pointed to the kitchen just as he turned the doorknob.

"Oh…" Moaned Yuzu as she walked back to the kitchen. Karin stood and watched.

Ichigo opened the door and standing in front of him was a giant green and red sweater.

"Merry Christmas!"

Did the sweater just talk?

"Orihime?"

Orihime smiled at Ichigo with pure happiness. She was finally able to get to his house. The weather had been so bad but she quickly stomped through it believing in her heart that if she were in danger, Ichigo would do the same.

"Hi, Kurosaki-kun! How are you doing?"

Was this the girl Ichigo was dating? Orihime? Well, it seemed obvious but she never remembered him showing any interest in her. Maybe they were still just good friends. Karin continued to stare as the two chatted in the front door entry way.

"Orihime, what are you doing here?"

"Well, you see, I was sitting at home innocently playing with my doll waiting for Santa Claus to come to my house and eat my home made sugar lollipop cookies when all of the sudden it grew very cold. So then I went to check my furnace, because, you know, that's where the heat comes out, when I noticed that it had broke! So I decided that your place would be a good place to stay at for a while until my furnace is fixed!"

Ichigo stared in shock. Her heater broke too?

What the hell?

"Do you mind if I come in? I can't feel my legs anymore."

Ichigo shook his head and nodded. He couldn't just kick her out. It was Orihime and besides, she was a lot sweeter then Ishida so she was allowed to stay.

Orihime walked into the room after removing all her coats, sweaters, scarves, muttons, and shoes and said down on the coffee table across from Ishida and Rukia.

"Hi guys! What brings you here to Kurosaki-kun's house?"

"The same thing that brings you here, Orihime."

"You were waiting for Santa Claus to eat your sugar lollipop cookies too?" Orihime gasped.

"He does get lonely at night." Muttered Rukia.

"Uh, no. The heat at my house broke down so I'm forced to stay with Ichigo for now."

Orihime gasped again, her hand covering her mouth. "You too?"

Ishida smiled and replied, "Yes, but don't worry. My father will hire someone to fix it later on."

Orihime smiled again and giggled. "Well, I hope he finds someone soon, Uryu-kun. I don't want to hear that you're cold during the night. That would so sad and it would make me cry."

Orihime and Ishida continued to talk while Ichigo trudged his way back into the kitchen muttering he was going to get more cookies and milk.

Once gone, Rukia turned to Orihime and asked the one question that had been on her mind when Ishida showed up.

"Why did you come today?"

Orihime turned to Rukia with confusion in her eyes. "My furnace bro-"

"Orihime."

She stared at Rukia for a while before admitting defeat.

"I was really worried about him. I could smell him from my apartment. Evil darkness killer would not leave, not even when I tried to air out my room. The smell became unbearable and I was beginning to worry about Kurosaki-kun. He never gets this depressed so I decided to come cheer him up! But halfway to his house I couldn't sense the evil darkness killer anymore and I became even more frightened. I was scared he might have been hurt or something so I rushed over here."

"That's very nice of you, Orihime-chan. You're so sweet to think about Kurosaki-kun's feelings."

Orihime smiled at Ishida for the sweet comment. Ishida was a nice boy who, if Ichigo couldn't, always tried to protect her from harm. She admired him a lot, especially for being the last of his kind. He had strength like Ichigo that she yearned for.

"At least she admitted she came for him and not hid it under false truth." Muttered Rukia. Ishida turned to smile at her. "Hm?" Rukia sighed and looked away.

"Oh, nothing."

Ichigo came walking into the room with another plate of cookies and milk when the doorbell rang again. Ichigo, after hearing the doorbell, tensed and slowly turned around to glance at it. He was afraid to open the door for reasons he didn't want to think about.

"Kurosaki-kun, I think someone's at the door. Do you want me to answer it?" Orihime asked.

"No, no, I've got it."

Slowly Ichigo walked across the room towards the door to open it. He could sense the person behind the door was very strong so he had no doubt in his mind that it was one of his friends. He hated to admit it but, he really didn't want to see any of them right at that moment.

When he opened the door, there stood a huge, tanned man with a golden necklace staring at him with brown, curly hair covering his eyes.

"Hi, Chad."

* * *

Yuzu heard the door open after taking the cookies out of oven. Karin hadn't come back from the living room so Yuzu really wanted to see what was going on but Ichigo had told her to stay in the kitchen. Ichigo walked in, a frown on his face, as he dragged himself to the counter where the cookies laid. She watched him as he then dragged himself towards the refrigerator where he grabbed the milk and trudged back to the living room.

She watched him leave and became aware that the person at the door was not his girlfriend. If it was her, he wouldn't look so moody. She sighed. She didn't even think the girl was going to come but she still held onto to hope. His girlfriend might just find time out of her busy life to see Ichigo and tell him she loved him with all her heart. Then Ichigo would carry her in his arms and shout to the world he loved her too. Then he would never be sad again.

Why wasn't this happening?

Well, no matter, Ichigo still had his friends and family by his side. She would make sure they would cheer him up, whether he liked it or not.

Yuzu heard the door once more and turned to stare. Could it be? Was it her this time. She ran to the living room, heading towards the door when she saw Ichigo standing there with another boy his age. Dark, brown curls covered his eyes as he stared down at Ichigo who had a crazed look on his face. Maybe, maybe this boy was…

Yuzu walked over to the boy and stood besides Ichigo. She looked him over once before asking her question.

"Are _you_ my brother's girlfriend?"

Ichigo turned around in shock. Would this girl not stop?

"Yuzu! Stop asking people that! I don't even know where you're getting the idea that these guys are dating me."

Yuzu turned towards Ichigo and smiled. "I'm just curious!"

Karin stared at her sister in wonder. "Yuzu, why do you continue to ask only the boys? The last one was a girl and you didn't ask."

"That's because Ichi-nii kicked me out the last time!"

Ichigo turned back to his grizzly friend and frowned. "Forgive my sister. She was dropped on her head by Karin who was kicked in the face by a soccer ball."

"Ichi-nii!"

"Well, it's true!"

Ichigo, tired of arguing with his sisters, turned back towards Chad who began to take his shoes and jacket off.

"So Chad, what are you doing here?"

Chad stood straight again and watched Ichigo for a minute before replying.

"My furnace broke."

Awkward silence.

Ichigo stared at Chad with a calm face. He finally bowed his head and sighed.

"Come on in…"

"Thanks."

Chad walked towards the group of three as they welcomed him into the home. He sat next to Orihime on the coffee table across from Ishida. Ichigo stared for a second before trudging back to the kitchen muttering about how he needed more cookies and milk, _again_.

Rukia turned to look at Chad who just seemed to stare at nothing. She watched for a while before asking, "You're here because you were worried, aren't you?"

"Yes."

"Oh, Sado-kun! That's so sweet of you!" Giggled Orihime, "You're thinking of him too!"

Rukia sighed, why was it so easy for Chad and Orihime to admit they were worried and so hard for Ishida to just say yes. The only reason she could come up with was he wanted to seem cool.

It wasn't really working.

"Well, you're all here now. I don't think we're expecting anyone else. Right, Ichigo?"

Ding Dong.

Ichigo popped his head from the kitchen and growled. This was the fourth time today and he was really beginning to get pissed off. It was a nice gesture of his friends to come and visit him during his 'time of need' but that didn't mean they actually had to stay! He was frustrated and did not want anymore guest. He just wanted to stay in his room and sulk. Was that such a crime?

Ichigo marched towards the door, not wanting to open it in fear it would be one of his friends, the normal insane ones.

_I swear, if it's Keigo, Mizuiro, or Tatsuki, and they jump on me, someone's not going to get anymore cookies!_

Ichigo took his time opening the door. The last person he wanted to see was a friend of his from school but when he opened the door he began to wish it was one of his classmates. Standing in his doorway was none other then the great Urahara Kisuke and friends.

Ichigo could hear his mind breaking.

"Yo!" Urahara waved his hand with a smile. He could see the angry, searing look on Ichigo's face and wanted to laugh so hard. He must have come at a bad time.

Awesome.

"Let me guess, your furnace broke."

"Yup."

"So you decided to come to my house because it was the closes place you could get too."

"Yup."

"And now you're gonna want cookies and milk."

"Actually cocoa would be nice."

Orihime watched Ichigo in wonder. She didn't know he was psychic.

"Kurosaki-kun, that was amazing! Can you read me next?"

Ichigo, not even sparing a glance towards his female friend, walked away leaving Urahara and his little pack of crazy to get inside the house.

Once taking of their shoes and jackets, Urahara walked towards the group of now four and waved.

"Hey, guys, what's up?"

"Let me guess, Urahara, you came to check up on Ichigo." Rukia said with a smug smirk on her face.

Urahara looked at Rukia in confusion. "No, actually, the furnace did break. Why the hell would I come to check up on Ichigo?"

Rukia stared at him for the longest time before replying "No reason." She went back to eating her third candy cane.

"Ichigo's pretty upset about something and you all came to see him. Am I right?"

"Besides Ishida, yeah." Rukia said with a little glare aimed towards the boy. He wasn't paying any attention.

"You're not the only ones who could smell evil darkness killer. It smells worse in here. Whew!"

Urahara waved his hand in front of his face, trying to get the smell away from him. He was right, it smelled a lot worse in the home then it did outside.

"Rukia-chan, how did you know we came to see Ichigo?" Orihime asked, the question bugging her for some time.

"You used a furnace excuse. It wasn't hard to figure out. I'm just surprised you all didn't use the excuse the power went off at your place."

"Oh, don't be silly, Rukia-chan. If we used that excuse Ichigo would definitely see something was up."

Urahara, Chad, Ishida, and Rukia stared at Orihime with raised eyebrows. They decided not to comment at her 'comment'.

"Well since we're here, we might as well celebrate Christmas here too!"

"Oh, please, God no!"

Ichigo held another plate of cookies in his had with a nervous look on his face. _Please, make them all leave!_

"Aww, come now Ichigo! It'll be fun! We can unwrap presents tomorrow in the early morning! We can sing Christmas songs too!" All of the sudden Urahara brought out a banjo and began to play 'Jingle Bells.'

Rukia felt she wasn't the only one who questioned where Kisuke got the banjo.

During the chaos of the music, Rukia felt her phone vibrate and looked down to see who was calling her. Widening her eyes, she sprinted past Ichigo, who was covering his ears and crying, towards the kitchen and answered her phone.

"Hello?"

"We're here!"

"Really? You actually made it?"

"You don't have that much faith in me, do you?"

"Is he with you?"

"Yeah, he's here. It was a pain to make him come though. When I said you were going to be there, that's when he decided to come."

"Wait-"

"We have everything set up."

"Okay, great. I'll get Ichigo ready. When you see the lights in the house turn off, that's your cue to come inside."

"You know, this holiday is way to much work."

"Whatever, just do it!"

"Love you too!"

Rukia hung up her phone and was about to get everyone settled down when she felt a hand grab her arm tightly. She turned around to see who had grabbed her when she saw the confused yet angry looks of Ichigo's twin sisters.

"What's going on? What are you planning?"

Rukia turned to stare at the two girls before deciding that she might as well tell them her plan. They would be of good use and help her.

"I found out who Ichigo's girlfriend is."

The two gasped in shock. She found out? How? She was sitting in the living room the whole time. She barely had anytime to talk to Ichigo.

"And she's here."

Another gasp came from the two girls. Not only did Rukia find out who it was but she also was able to get in touch with Ichigo's girlfriend. How did she do that?

"When I tell you both when, I want you to turn the lights off. Ichigo's going to get the surprise of his life. Understand?"

The girls nodded quickly before running towards the living room by the light switch on the wall. The singing had finally stopped but the chaos did not. Rukia walked in to find Ichigo on top of Urahara, trying to choke him and hit him with his own banjo. Ishida and Chad were holding Ichigo back while Orihime was searching for any injuries on Urahara.

"Check the face! Check the face!"

"I'm checking! I'm checking!"

Rukia decided to end this nonsense by putting her two fingers in her mouth and blowing. A loud noise filled the room as they all turned their attention to Rukia. Once she grabbed their attention, Rukia smiled at them and clapped her hands together.

"Okay! We have a special guest arriving today to visit a moody person so please behave and no beating him up! Alright?"

They stared at her in confusion. What was the crazy shinigami doing now? Rukia turned her attention towards Karin and Yuzu, who were grinning from ear to ear, and nodded her head. Finally, the time had come. She had been planning this for so long, waiting for this day to come so she could see Ichigo smile again. She was doing this for him and only him.

He so owed her now.

The lights went of in the room as Orihime screamed. The boys let go of each other as they watched the front door. It was silent; no one moved or even blinked.

In a matter of seconds, the door was blown off its hinges and in came a man with a red shirt, black pants, and red spiky hair.

They continued to stare in the dark, trying to make out the image when a voice came from the intruder.

"Ho, ho, ho! Merry Christmas, ya bastards!"

"Renji!?"

There, in all his glory, stood Abarai Renji with a red sack over his shoulder. The lights came back on and everyone stared. Rukia stared at Renji with happiness, Ishida, Chad, Orihime, and Urahara stared with confusion and suspicion and Ichigo stared at his now broken down front door.

Yuzu and Karin stared in shock. Was this? That had to be her…or him! Rukia said so.

"Are _you_ my brother's girlfriend?"

Renji turned towards the girls and smiled but before he could answer he was interrupted by Ichigo.

"Renji, you're here."

Renji turned towards Ichigo again and smiled. He took small steps as he walked slowly towards Ichigo, the bag on his shoulder slipping off to the ground.

"Yeah, I'm here. I came to keep a promise I made to someone special."

They stared at each other for a long time before Ichigo asked, "And what promise was that?"

Renji continued to smile at Ichigo, the light casting shadows as he walked even closer to the boy on the ground.

And then Renji jumped towards Ichigo…

…and began to kick him in the stomach.

"I promised Rukia that as soon as I got to your place I would kick your ass for putting her through so much shit, you lousy bastard!"

They all stared in shock with questioning looks on their faces. Rukia was smirking looking off to the side.

"I didn't think he'd actually do it."

"Stop, you bastard! I'll kill you!"

Ichigo turned around and grabbed Renji's foot before he could kick him again and spinned him in mid air throwing Renji of his balance and onto the floor.

They began to breathe heavily, almost like they ran a marathon. Ichigo began to chuckle when he saw Renji's red face. Renji turned to look at Ichigo before he began to laugh himself. Soon they were on the floor laughing like a couple of idiots.

Rukia smiled. It had been so long since she heard him laugh like that.

Ichigo turned to stare and Renji and whispered a 'thanks' that was replied with the words 'You're welcome.'

Yuzu stared on in confusion. None of this made sense to her.

"Mr. Renji, sir, are you my brother's girlfriend?"

Renji turned to stare at the girl and smiled again.

"He wishes!"

Ichigo punched Renji in the arm before laying his head back down on the ground. For some reason, that little fight had taken a lot of out him.

Just then another figure walked in the room wearing a black, long sleeved shirt with blue jeans and a scarf. He had long, black hair which white clips on top to hold it back. He was handsome to say the least.

"Nii-sama! You came!" Rukia shouted as she ran towards her brother and jumped on him with a hug. He grabbed her instantly and hugged her back, not with much force as Rukia, but hugged her tightly none the less.

"You did call."

"I know, but Renji said you couldn't get away."

Renji looked up upon hearing his name. "Yeah, stupid Ikkaku and Matsumoto decided they wanted to celebrate the damn holiday too so they set up this whole party thing with lots of sake and shit. Do you know how hard it is to find the captain with so many freakin' soul reapers drunk of their ass dancing!? It was a freakin WAR zone in there." He turned towards Ichigo who was starting to get up from his spot on the floor. "You are _so_ lucky I like you, kid, or else I would have just stayed at the party and gotten drunk of my ass myself!"

Ichigo, who was rubbing his back, glared down at Renji. "Thanks."

"It was a nightmare." Byakuya said, his eyes going dim at the thought of having to go back to the party.

**Ikkaku and Matsumoto drank their drinks with joy. They finally had time for themselves. Thank you, weird human holiday!**

**Byakuya watched them drink and wondered how their bodies could handle so much alcohol.**

**"I don't understand why you're celebrating. We never even heard of this holiday before."**

**Matsumoto stared at the captain in shock and began to speak with slurred words.**

**"That's not true! Remember when we were singing that song, Frostbite!"**

**"Frosty." Replied Ikkaku.**

**"Yeah, Frosty! That was such an amazing guy!"**

**Ikkaku stared back at Matsumoto before replying, "He was a great hero who only cared about those poor little children."**

**"Hm, and then, the day after Christmas, the snow was melting."**

**"And he told them kids, 'let's have one last march around the neighborhood together.'"**

**"And they marched and marched even when Frosty was melting."**

**"And then he told them not to cry, he would be back Christmas day!"**

**Tears slipped down their tears as they cried their eyes out.**

**Byakuya walked away before they started crying about that damn flying reindeer.**

Rukia looked up towards her brother when she noticed how he was shivering.

"You must be cold, Nii-sama! Here, come inside." She led him inside as Ichigo helped Renji up.

"Okay, so can I ask why the hell you two are here?" Ichigo asked, eyeing the two new residents in the room.

"No." Byakuya replied.

Renji dusted off his pants before replying. "Dude, listen, we can smell your evil darkness killer all the way from Soul Society. Okay, _something's_ to be done about that situation."

Ichigo growled at the statement. "I do not smell like that!"

"Are you sure, dude? Because I'm getting a really bad whiff of it right now."

"You are all really starting to piss me off right now."

"Does this mean the older man isn't Ichi-nii's girlfriend either?" Yuzu asked.

"Shut up, Yuzu!"

Orihime stood up from her seat and walked slowly towards Ichigo. "We just came by to make sure you were alright. I know it's been hard on yo-"

"You don't know anything." Interrupted Ichigo, "You don't know anything about this."

Ishida stood up and fixed his glasses that were sliding down his face. "Maybe if you told us-"

"No! This is none of your business."

Rukia looked desperate, "Ichigo, please!"

"None of you understand what I'm feeling right now. I made a promise to someone and I couldn't keep it! I tried, God, how I tried to keep it but the only evidence of that is the freakin bruise on my back. I said we were going to see each other soon but I couldn't do it! And now we're both alone on the holiday I wanted us to be together on. You don't have any idea exactly what I'm feeling so just shut the fuck up and leave me alone, alright?"

The room went silent. No one said a word. They just stared at Ichigo with pity eyes, something Ichigo did not want to see.

"I don't need pity and I definitely don't need five therapist so I can admit my 'problems'. I'm alright so please, everyone, just stop worrying." And with that he walked up the stairs and into his room closing the door behind him silently.

The room continued to stay quiet. No one dared make a sound for fear that even the slightest noise would cause something to go wrong.

Yuzu wanted to cry. This wasn't supposed to happen. She was supposed to come and make him happy. She was supposed to make him smile and laugh. Instead, she didn't and this made Yuzu very angry.

"Where is he?" came a voice from the front doorway. Everyone turned their heads to see who had spoken when a gasp from Karin brought their attention.

"It's you!" Karin whispered. Yuzu stared at her sister with confusion.

"…Are _you_ my brother's girlfriend?"

_Twitch._

"Where he is?" The stranger asked again.

Rukia stared for a little while longer before pointing up the stairs towards Ichigo's room. "He's upstairs. You know where it is."

The person nodded and started to walk up the stairs when a voice caught his attention. "I hope you can fix this mess you made. He's been moodier before but this is the worse."

The person looked down and replied, "He's being a big baby, that's all. I'll go smack some sense into him."

And with that said, the new resident walked up the stairs and towards the boy's room fully intending to show the boy love.

* * *

Ichigo laid on his side, facing the window. The sky had grown dark during the day and now the moon shown. It was beautiful, the moon's light glittered on the snow making it seem flawless, smooth, and cold.

He remembered when he used to watch the snow with his mother. She would hold him to her nice and tight and tell him stories about different legends around Christmas. She had told him about Frosty the Snowman, Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer, and the old Miser Brother's story. He used to stay up late with his mother just singing those stupid songs because not only was it fun but he got to hear him mother's silky voice.

When he met the love of his life, he didn't really know it. Once they got to talk to each other more, he found himself enchanted by the person's voice. The smell, the warmth they generated felt so right to him. When they separated, he made the promise that he would return for just this day so they could both sit on a bed and watch the snow together. He couldn't keep the promise and for that he felt guilty. He felt like he was losing the tradition he made with his mother.

Ichigo felt a presence enter his room but didn't turn around. He closed his eyes, breathing deeply. The smell, it seemed so familiar. The warmth on his back, it felt cold. The arms wrapping themselves around his waist, they felt like home.

He knew this person. He knew this person more then anyone else. Ichigo turned around and wrapped him arms around the intruder's waist and pulling the person closer to his body, his head lightly comfortably on the person's head. The intruder snuggled close to Ichigo, reaching for the warmth and snuggling his head into Ichigo's neck, comfortable and warm.

"You came."

"I promised you I would, didn't I?"

"Actually, I promised you, I just couldn't come."

"I know. I heard you got into a fight with another shinigami trying to sneak into Soul Society. Nice work."

Ichigo smirked as he held the person in his arms tighter. "Hey, I was doing that for you. I promised you didn't I?"

"You didn't have to try so hard. You also didn't have to get so upset. I understood you couldn't come. I _don't_ understand why you just didn't send Rukia to say hello or something."

Ichigo frowned. "Well, that would have been stupid. Did you ever think I wanted to see you in person so I could hold you like this?"

The person in Ichigo's arms smiled. "You're pathetic."

Ichigo smiled.

"You do understand that I'm going to make you apologize to all those people downstairs for yelling at them and putting them through hell, right?"

Ichigo frowned.

"They deserved it."

"Stop being a baby."

Ichigo looked down to the person eyes and smiled. It had been so long since he had seen those eyes. They glowed in the moon's light and reminded him of the scenery outside.

Beautiful.

He leaned down to kiss his love while his love leaned up to kiss him back. Cold and warm lips touched and electricity soared between the two as they pressed harder against each other for more friction. This was what they wanted. This was all worth the pain, the joy, the anger.

When they finally separated for air they looked at each other and smiled. Finally, they were together again. Ichigo didn't have to keep his promise. His promise came to him.

"I love you."

Ichigo smiled and kissed his love on the forehead.

"I love you too, Toushirou."

* * *

Orihime stared down at the bag that Renji had left in the living room by the now finished tree.

"Renji-kun, what's inside here?"

Renji turned to look for the person who asked him a question with a cookie in his mouth when he saw it was just Orihime. He swallowed his cookie before replying, "Ah, that's just a bunch of presents Rukia got you guys is all."

Upon hearing the word 'presents' Orihime's eyes grew wide and screamed so loud the occupants up stairs were startled. "Presents!?!"

"Can we open them now?"

"Yes, why don't we, besides, it's already twelve o'clock. It's Christmas time."

"Alright."

Renji turned towards Rukia with a smile on his face. "How 'bout we, sugar? It is the time."

Rukia turned to Renji and smiled.

"Oh, alright, just make sure not to be too loud. Ichigo's father is sleeping off the abuse he was put through today and I'm sure Ichigo and Captain Hitsugaya are going to want peace and quiet."

"Yay!" Shouted Orihime before opening the red bag and stuffing her hands inside.

Rukia walked towards the presents while everyone sat down waiting for their own.

Rukia grabbed a present she had been saving for her brother and walked slowly towards him.

"I know we don't celebrate this holiday but I still wanted to give you something, Nii-sama. I hope you like it."

She handed Byakuya the present and sat down watching intently as he opened it. There inside was a nicely made red sweater.

"I made it myself. It get's cold in your office sometimes so I thought you might need something to keep you warm."

Byakuya continued to stare at the red sweater before a small smile graced his lips. He turned his eyes towards Rukia and gave her a small thank you.

She smiled before getting up again and walking towards Renji who also had a present in his hand. He looked up to see her coming and smiled.

"Hey, Rukia, I got you something."

She turned in surprise but none the less, grabbed the present from his slightly shaking arm and began to open it. Once the poorly wrapped paper was off she saw it was a new drawing notebook. She turned to Renji and in a second she jumped on him and shouted, "Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!"

Renji hugged her back and was enjoying the showers of 'thank you' when he noticed the small glare he was being given by a certain big brother. He quickly let go of Rukia and coughed in his hand. "Hey, heh, your welcome."

Rukia smiled again and turned to see what she saw in the corner of her eye. She looked out the window to see it was snowing.

A lot.

"It's snowing everyone!" Orihime shouted as she ran towards the window looking out at their little winter wonderland.

"It's so beautiful."

"Amazing!"

"Wow!"

Rukia smiled once more before closing her eyes and making a wish.

_Please, please let him finally be happy._

When she opened her eyes she saw her wish come true. The snow came harder, more beautiful, and she no longer sensed the evil aura. He was happy, and that was all she wanted for Christmas.

* * *

They continued to stare out at the sky, the snow falling heavier but beautiful in the moon light. Ichigo held Toushirou closer to his body, savoring the coldness he had missed for so long.

They watched the snow fall to the ground, making a new home for itself.

White.

All he saw was white. A fluffy, almost solid substance that seemed to glow under the stare of the street lights and the moon.

And it was heaven.

Toushirou turned around to stare at Ichigo and gave him a small smile.

"Merry Christmas, Ichigo."

"Merry Christmas."

**_~Owari~_**


End file.
